"No, not right now. But tell her I will stop by later. Text me if there's anything she needs and I'll bring it with me."

Chapter 14.

Harper Making sure Lana was still doing well was at the top of my priorities. Of course I shouldn't have worried about my friend. When we walked into her private room an hour later, she was snuggled up in bed with Drake beside her.

It was kind of bitter sweet to look at them. They looked so content to be in one another's arms, but so sad too. The loss of their baby was. .h.i.tting Lana hard, and I ached for my friend.

Shane had stopped in the gift shop and picked up a load of balloons that had Lana smiling as she watched him fight with the dozens of strings attached to them. He was melting my heart, watching the way he was so tender with his sis, as he liked to call Lana.

We had only been there about half an hour when Layla and Emmie joined us. Layla was all about Lana, making sure she wasn't in any pain. Shane took Emmie out into the hall for a long while, but I didn't question either of them when they returned separately. Shane just kissed my cheek and pulled me close.

I was pretty sure that I was in love with this rock star, and that didn't scare me like it might have a month ago.

We left the hospital later that afternoon and returned to my apartment to get ready for dinner. It was still too early to go out, but that was the excuse I gave Shane when I tugged him from Lana's crowded hospital room. I knew that Lana was going to be taken care of, and I needed some alone time with Shane before we went out later.

As soon as we walked through the front door, I was already tugging at his T-shirt. He made a growling noise and lifted me effortlessly into his arms. "I hope you aren't too sore from last night and this morning because I really don't think I can be gentle, beautiful."

I grinned at him as he practically jogged through the apartment toward my room. "Good."

As soon as the bedroom door was shut and locked behind us, he tossed me on the bed and jumped in beside me. The bed bounced, causing me to giggle. The giggles quickly died when his lips captured my own.

Even as he devoured me with his sensual lips, he was stripping me with his talented hands. Sneaky fingers tormented me, pinching my sensitive nipples and spreading the lips of my s.e.x but not entering me. I didn't have time to think, could barely comprehend what I was feeling before he made me feel something more mind blowing.

His hot mouth left mine and swallowed one of my tiny b.r.e.a.s.t.s, making me cry out in pure elation. Fingers found my throbbing c.l.i.t, making me whimper for more. I could feel my s.e.x flooding with proof of my arousal, dampening my thighs and his hand.

"f.u.c.k, baby!" he exclaimed when he felt how ready I was for him. "You are drenched." I watched as he licked his lips like a man dying of thirst. "I'm going to eat you until you beg me to stop."

Shane's mouth was on me before he even finished speaking. My body was his for the taking, my hips arching up to meet his seeking tongue. Strong fingers gripped my hips, holding me in place as he buried his face in between my wet folds. I lost control fast, my climax washing over me within less than a minute of his tongue working me over.

I was helpless to stop the small screams that escaped me as I fell apart, but he wasn't finished with me. His tongue never stopped, only intensifying my o.r.g.a.s.m, pleasuring me through the peak. As soon as I fell off the edge of the precipice, he was working me toward another one. My fingers fisted the covers, holding on as he pushed me harder and faster toward the abyss of pleasure that awaited me on the other side of a second climax in as many minutes.

I cried out his name when I fell again, the o.r.g.a.s.m lasting longer this time. Still, he didn't stop but added his fingers to the equation. Two thick fingers thrust into me as his mouth sucked on my c.l.i.t. The growling noises he was making letting me know that he was enjoying the taste of me only made me wetter for him.

"Shane!" My voice was broken, hoa.r.s.e from the screams that he had ripped from me with the two o.r.g.a.s.ms he had already given me. "I want you, Shane!"

"Not yet." His voice was rough, raspier than I'd ever heard it. "I love the taste of your need for me. Want more of it, baby. Give me more!"

His words only made me come apart fast as he flattened his tongue against my c.l.i.t and held it there as he finger f.u.c.ked me. I came for the third time and he ate it all up. Finally, he lifted his head and I could see my desire damp on his face. Maybe I should have been embarra.s.sed, but I wasn't. Not with Shane, who had awoken all of this pa.s.sion in me.

I watched as he sucked his bottom lip into his mouth. His groan stirred something deep between my legs back to life again. "I hope you liked that, baby. Because I plan on doing it often."

I didn't know how to respond to that, so I didn't. Instead, I grabbed his arm and pulled him down on top of me. "I want you inside of me. Now."

The way his eyes darkened only increased my need for him. "Whatever you want, beautiful."

His clothes were gone in seconds, and he was finally on his knees in front of me, naked and aroused and beautifully male. I grasped his d.i.c.k with both hands, loving how he felt against my fingers. Hot, hard, silky. Spreading my legs wider for him, I guided him to my entrance.

Balancing his weight on his wrists now, he paused as the head of his big c.o.c.k entered me. "I'm yours, Harper. And you are mine."

I blinked, unable to understand his words at first. "What?"

"I belong to you. Tell me you know that."

My breath felt like it was trapped in my lungs all of a sudden. "Shane... I..."

"I love you, baby."

Tears burnt my eyes and I quickly blinked them away. "Don't say that."

"Why not?" he asked softly.

"Because... Because..." I broke off, not completely sure why he shouldn't say those words to me. "Because I want to believe you."

A smile teased his lips. G.o.d, I loved it when he smiled. I felt like everything in the world was perfect when he smiled at me. "Believe it, beautiful. I love you."

Heart pounding, I covered his mouth with my hand. "Prove it."

He did. For hours he showed me by making love to me until I was sure I was going to expire from the sheer pleasure of it all.

After an afternoon full of nothing but lovemaking, all I wanted to do was sleep until it was time to meet Dallas and Linc later that night. I was sure that Shane and I had more than celebrated my new job, but he had other plans.

"Get your s.e.xy a.s.s up!" he commanded, jumping out of bed with more energy than I would have thought possible after just spending hours proving that he was indeed a s.e.x G.o.d.

I groaned and rolled over, hiding under the covers. "Sleepy."

A firm slap to my bottom made me squeal. "Get up and shower or I'll do it for you."

When I didn't bother to move, he lifted me, covers and all, and carried me into the bathroom. I struggled in his hold, laughing and kicking. "Shane! Put me down!"

Suddenly, I was on my feet in the shower and the covers were stripped away from me. His mischievous smile made me melt for him all over again. "Do I need to wash you too?"

I gave him a mock glare. "Tyrant."

Laughing, he turned for the door. "Better get to washing, beautiful. I'll be back in five minutes."

Forty-five minutes later we were stepping out of the back of a town car and into one of the most extravagant restaurants in New York City. Luckily, I had dressed with this possibility in mind because I knew that Shane liked these types of places just as much as he liked little mom-and-pop eateries.

There was a line but when Shane approached the hostess and gave his name the woman told him his party had already arrived. I frowned up at him. "Are your friends joining us?" It didn't bother me if they were, but I'd thought it was going to be just the two of us.

I saw something like uncertainty flash across his face for a moment. He turned to me and cupped my face tenderly in his big, callused hands. "I love you, Harper."

"Shane..."

"Just trust me... Okay?"

His words only confused me, so I said nothing as he took my hand and linked our fingers as the hostess showed us to our table. The place was full of familiar faces, none of whom I knew personally but from celebrity gossip pages instead. Some of them turned to watch as Shane pulled me through the ma.s.ses, others didn't find us interesting enough to bother.

I was too concerned about what Shane could have possibly meant to care or to notice the two women sitting at one of the best tables in the restaurant, watching us make our way toward them. It wasn't until we were mere feet away from them that I realized my mother and stepsister were about to pounce.

Shane I felt Harper stiffen beside me and knew that she had spotted her family. Dallas' warning that I could possibly lose the best thing to ever happen to me echoed in the back of my mind. My stomach clenched with what could only be fear, but I pushed through it.

If I was to understand the girl I intended to spend the rest of my life with, we had to deal with this now.

Harper suddenly stopped and I was forced to turn and face her. My heart ached at the sight of her pale face and the hurt shining at me through those gla.s.ses I loved so much. "I don't want to be here," she whispered so softly I had to strain to hear her.

My fingers tightened around hers, and I bent my knees so that we were on the same eye level. "Why?"

She glanced over my shoulder for a moment, taking in her mother and stepsister. Before my eyes I saw her transform from a scared little kitten to a very s.e.xy, very angry tigress. Her jaw clenched and those incredible violet eyes grew cold. I wasn't confident that was a good thing, but at least she no longer looked like a kicked puppy.

"Let's get this over with," she bit out in a voice that told me I was not her favorite person any longer.

Knowing that I had hurt her hurt me twice as much. In that moment, I was ready to take her away from there and beg for her forgiveness. I could only pray that Dallas wasn't right and that I wasn't about to lose the beautiful creature before me. "We don't have to stay," I rushed to tell her. "We can go home. Make love. Forget that this ever happened."

"No. You obviously had a reason to set this up." I wish I knew what she was thinking behind those now arctic purple eyes of hers. "I'm not sure I care what that reason was, but whatever."

She jerked her hand from mine when I tried to keep hold of it and pushed past me. I swallowed hard and pulled my phone from my dress pants. A rapid texted message was all I had time for before I turned and stepped beside Harper.

Monica and Ariana Calloway looked more like mother and daughter than Harper and her mom. Sure, the two other women were beautiful with their designer label dresses and makeup perfectly applied. Both had dark blonde hair that was obviously from a bottle. It couldn't compare to Harper's natural caramel hair. A glance at Monica told me that Harper must have gotten her eyes from her father because hers were a kind of muddy brown that weren't even close to interesting. Their makeup was so thick it looked like if they smiled the wrong way their faces would crack.

As I stepped behind Harper I was overwhelmed by the very expensive-very French-perfume that the two women wore. As a kid I had suffered from asthma and the feeling of being unable to draw fresh air came back with a vengeance for a moment. When I could finally breathe, I found two sets of eyes on me: one hungry, the other disbelieving.

"This is your boyfriend?" Monica demanded.

The very tone of her voice made my hackles rise. I had planned on a simple dinner where I found out what the deal was with Harper and her mother. I could already make a small guess and was hating the b.i.t.c.h standing before me more and more with each pa.s.sing second.

"Boyfriend?" Harper's tone was still cold. "Is that what you call the guy that warms your bed?"

Her words were a stab to my heart, but I knew that I deserved it.

Monica sucked in a shocked gasp. "Harper! You don't say things like that in public. I swear, that Dallas has really ruined you."

"No, Dallas saved me," Harper corrected her mother.

I felt a cool hand touch my arm and glanced down to find Ariana had moved closer. "Wow. Shane Stevenson. I never thought Harper would be able to get the most talked about s.e.x G.o.d of rock and roll to look twice at her."

The way she looked up at me through her fake lashes with those blue eyes of hers was supposed to be s.e.xy. And maybe two months ago I would have quickly taken the blatant invitation being offered with that smile of hers. But Harper was the only female that could even make my d.i.c.k twitch. I covered her hand on my arm and pushed it away. The coy look left her face, and her cheeks heated with a mixture of anger and embarra.s.sment.

"Harper is everything I've always wanted. Beautiful inside and out. Unlike some of the fake b.i.t.c.hes I see right now."

Harper pulled a chair out and sat gracefully, leaving us all to follow suit. I took the seat directly beside her and attempted to catch her hand. She pulled away and clasped her hands together in her lap as the other two women took their seats. A waiter appeared and offered a wine list. I ordered a bottle of Harper's favorite white wine and a bourbon for myself, knowing I was going to need it.

"Well, Harper," Monica lifted her water gla.s.s and took a sip before continuing, "tell us how you met this...charming young man."

"He's Lana's brother-in-law."

"Ah." Monica grimaced in distaste. "I see."

"How is dear Lana?" Ariana asked, her tone full of sarcasm. "And the rest of your roommates."

"Fine." Harper's answer was pointed, leaving no room for follow up questions.

"There is no reason to be so snippy, Harper," Monica scolded. "Your sister is only being nice."

"Stepsister," Harper snapped.

"What is wrong with you? You never talk to me like this."

Harper raised a brow at her mother. "You mean I usually say nothing while you and Ariana sit and tell me how awkward I am. How I will never compare or be beautiful. Sorry, Mother. Shall I sit here and shut my mouth now? Maybe I should offer suggestions? I have gained two pounds since you last saw me. Ready, set, go!"

All of Harper's self-esteem issues clicked for me.

For so many years I'd seen the effects of the physical abuse on Emmie from her mother. Now I was understanding that abuse didn't always leave bruises that were visible. Some broke the soul and, in this case, destroyed a person's feeling of self-worth.

Well f.u.c.k that!

"You are evil b.i.t.c.hes."

"Excuse me?" Monica demanded in a haughty tone. G.o.ds, her soul was ugly when she got that look on her face, as if she thought she was better than everyone around her.

"I said, you are evil b.i.t.c.hes." My gaze went to the clone sitting beside her, letting Ariana know that I was including her if she hadn't gotten that message yet. "I don't know what your problem is and, really, I don't give a f.u.c.k. You are one of those women that get off on making others feel less than they really are so you can feel better about yourself because you know that you will never be beautiful."

"I am beautiful." Monica sounded so sure of herself as she gave me a sneer in disgust.

"Sure you are. It only takes a gallon of paint and a few grand of designer clothes to make you that way. Meanwhile, your daughter has true beauty. She doesn't need the makeup, or hooker perfume, or clothes to make her stand out. You only wish you were that beautiful, and that's why you can't stand it. So you bring her down so that she thinks that she can't compare to you and Miss Thing over here."

"I'm a model!" Ariana argued.

"Who the f.u.c.k cares?" The tables around us grew quiet and I realized I had spoken louder than I had intended, but I didn't care. "You're a model, good for you. I'm a rock star, b.i.t.c.h."

Chapter 15.